Health authorities in Brazil say the active Zika virus has been detected in the saliva and urine of patients.
However they say it does not mean the virus can be readily transmitted through the bodily fluids.
Traces of Zika have been detected in other bodily fluids in previous outbreaks, but the Brazilian authorities say this is the first time that “active” virus has been detected.
The main method of infection by the Zika virus is through mosquito bites. But scientists around the world are investigating all other possibilities.
A virologist at the University of Nottingham in England, Professor Jonathan Ball, says the detection of a virus in a particular body fluid, does not mean it will become an important source of virus transmission to humans.
He told the BBC that at the peak of virus replication in the blood, the virus can often be detected in other body fluids.
But according to Professor Ball, the levels of the virus in other body fluids are often much lower and there’s no obvious or efficient means for it to get from that bodily fluid into another person’s bloodstream.
Health officials in Texas have confirmed that the Zika virus can be sexually transmitted.
–30–
